THE PATHFINDER


#275.16

 

"I Am Become Death
the
Destroyer of Worlds
"

 

 

We noticed a few things in our previous couple of articles about God's peculiar people as it is mentioned in 1 Peter 2:9. It was good to see that they are not exactly "peculiar" as the word is used today. They are more like a precious treasure rather than a strange body of souls called Christians. To be reminded, the Greek word from which it is translated, peripoiesis, means an acquisition...preservation and comes from peripoieomai, meaning, to make around oneself, acquire (buy). (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance).

We can see that God is making us around Himself. That is, we are His trappings, if you please, a dense cloud covering Him, concealing His glory for a season. With this understanding set before us, perhaps it is more easily seen why "He made darkness his secret place; His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." Psalm 18:11.

While Christ temporarily clothes Himself with the pavilions of our flesh, He is at work spinning our frames out of the same heavenly substance from whence He came, which is the consuming fire of our Father. From flaming threads He weaves His celestial robe. By the Spirit we are made in His express image, not in the image of the first man who is of the earth, but of the Last Man who is the Lord from heaven. We are His workmanship unto good works, and we might add -- works speak of manifestations. That which He has made around Himself, He has kept, ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:4-5).

Although reserved for a time in God's celestial archives, His secret treasure, His Peculiar ones, His Sons, will not be hidden forever. There is a time for them to work the good works for which they were called. It is their destiny. We do not know the exact time, for it has not been given to us; but by knowing the season, we can conclude that the time is near. For "When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." Psalm 102:16. Until then, He appears only to those in the recesses of the most Holy Place of the tabernacle. "Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God." Exodus 40:34 & 2 Chronicles 5:14.

His Glory has filled His house, however, "...it does not yet APPEAR...: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall SEE HIM AS HE IS." 1 John 3:2.

If we are planning to appear with Him -- we must see Him as He is. It is as simple as that. If we see Him as a failure--as anything less than the Savior of all that He died for--we cannot expect to appear with Him, for with such obscured vision, we have not yet fully perceived Him. Those who appear with Him are those who are like Him in the fullness of His abounding love, mercy, grace, and judgment.

Let us ask, is our vision of His finished work sufficient to minister reconciliation and salvation to all men, and regardless of what they have done? When we find them in the midst of the lake of fire, what will be our word to them? Spewing coals of condemnation, or words of love unto salvation? If we cannot find the love of Christ to minister God's saving grace, it is a sure bet we are not seeing Jesus as He is.

It would be a disaster for Him to set people in the place of authority with such limited vision to reconcile and save the world. The job would never get done. Rather than going to the utmost to save the lost, they would heap fire upon them and rejoice in the suffering of men who would not, or could not, measure up to religion's stringent creeds. Be sure to know that such will not appear with Him in His glory. Their vision, or lack thereof, will disqualify them. Make no mistake about it--at best, they are unfaithful servants and certainly not sons. It may not be known by everyone; but one of the very first revelations to be held by a son of God is the Good News of the Salvation of All!

With the deception that God will lose most of His creation to either eternal damnation or annihilation, how could Jesus have them reconciling the world and ruling with Him? It's out of the question. People of this mind-set could not reconcile the lost of the world.

Those who see Him as He is will be brought with Him. Only those who are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh, spirit of His Spirit--His Peculiar Treasure--will appear with Him. He is not interested in man's black robes and white collars, his pomp, his dogmas, his religious works and façades, or anything else with which he can clothe himself to cover his nakedness. But those who stand daily in this place called holiness--they see Him as He is and are covered with His flaming splendor, a coat of many flames made by the work of His own hands as Jacob/Israel did for Joseph (Genesis 37:3).

Being clothed upon with such glory, and with the living word in our mouths, He will send us forth to reconcile the world, the whole world, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. And "He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill ALL things." Ephesians 4:10. And there is no question about it, He will do it! For He finished it before He started it. If you don't believe it, be patient for a time and watch His Peculiar People at work. You will see that finished work come to pass as it bursts open in glorious reality. Incidentally, might fill in the Greek is plro and means: "make replete, that is, (literally) cram, level up, satisfy, execute, finish (a period or task), verify, or coincide with a prediction." Therefore, rather than might fill all things, it is: "He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He will replete, cram full, level up, satisfy, finish, ALL THINGS."

Praise God! He will verify His Apostle's prediction, his proclamation; that is, his prophecy! Praise God! Can you not see it?

More than a small number of men and women today believe they have the word of reconciliation; but their final word testifies otherwise. They lay claim to Sonship, while denying the very ministry to which the Sons of God are called. They falsely maintain that the Sons of God will fail in their mission of ministering reconciliation and salvation to all. Due to their vision, or lack thereof, they serve a god of their own making who is not sovereign enough to bring about the victory of all being saved, or else, he is a god who can but won't do it. Furthermore, without regard to holy things and the sanctuary of God, they barge in with the smell of death upon their garments. They venture into sacred areas and broadcast their lifeless dogmas where angels fear to tread. Such is a coup d'état and not unlike the one Jesus mentioned: "And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]." Matthew 11:12 (Amplified).

These aggressors are not the Sons of God. They are trespassers, usurpers. Unlike them, the Sons of God do not take it. They are freely given the kingdom. They have a clear vision of their calling, and will not cease from pursuing it until there is not one man left in hell, even those who say otherwise. They are honorable men and women of high standards and keen understanding, and rather than treading carelessly upon holy ground, they tremble at the prospect of standing in the midst of God's glory and foolishly opening their mouths. The place from where they stand and seldom speak is sacred. It is the most Holy Place, and anyone who is out of order and ventures therein is living most dangerously. It has become a serious matter to all who stand in the midst of the confines of the most Holy place.

We have been in assemblies of the Lord that left everyone speechless. Rather than contending to be heard, it was the exact opposite. Those in attendance were truly a peculiar people who preferred the Lord over themselves.

One of those assemblies was peculiar in several ways. It commenced eight days after the 53rd anniversary of the detonation of the world's first atomic bomb; which took place July 16, 1945 just north of Alamogordo when I was three years old. Since that parlous day when the earth and heavens were ripped apart, the world was forever changed, as was the world of many who were part of the meetings in 1998. After almost twenty years later, we still receive reports that those days were like a nuclear blast to them, that the elements of their makeup melted to form new matter. It was like that fiery blast which tore asunder the atoms of the heavens above while melting the sand beneath, forming a new substance called Trinitite, also known as Atomsite or Alamogordo Glass. When the bomb was detonated, it left a crater in the desert floor 10 feet deep and 1100 feet in diameter. About 240 people on the project watching the blast from a "safe" distance reported the early morning dawn was lit up brighter than full daylight and felt a wave of heat roll over them that was as hot as an oven, even at a distance of 10 miles away. The shock wave was felt up to 100 miles away. My hometown, Alamogordo, is 70 miles from the site. The enormous mushroom cloud was 7.5 miles high. Chief physicist of the Manhattan project, Robert Oppenheimer, said that "We knew the world would never be the same. A few people laughed, a few cried, most were silent. I remembered the line from the Bhagavad-Gita -- 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'"

The heat was so intense that it vaporized the 100 foot steel tower holding the bomb and melted the sand underneath forming the Trinitite that is found nowhere else on earth and gets its name from the place the bomb was detonated--Trinity Site. It is like our God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet the Trinity is inseparably fused into One.

With the intense heat by which God's devastating glory in His Sons is to be manifested, the inhabitants of the earth will likewise be fused together, forming a new element. Perhaps we could call them Trinitites. The word would fit.

That first bomb was identical to Little Boy, the one dropped on Hiroshima, Japan August 6 of the same year, 1945. It, along with the second bomb three days later that was used on Nagasaki, ended World War II. The second one was called Fat Man. Interestingly, the meaning of Alamogordo, the city known for that detonation, and is also the city where the Lord assembled us 53 years and eight days from the original date, means Fat Cottonwood. And we know that trees in scripture generally are symbolic of men.

That first bomb, and the two succeeding it, were used for mass destruction; but similarly in the spirit, the explosion, or manifestation of the Sons of God, will not only be Death, the destroyer of worlds, but will afterwards build them up as well, thus, the lake of fire. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Revelation 20:14. That is, the Lake of Fire, the Second Death, puts to death the first death--becoming the destroyer of worlds.

They who are flames of fire like their Father, who is a consuming fire, will surely destroy men's worlds, but will not leave them as such; for they will bring reconstruction, or rather, a reconstitution. Acts 3:21 speaks of the restitution of all things; but translated properly the word should be reconstitution. The old man, Adam, will not be restored to his former state of being; but he will be reconstituted, fused with that which was left out, or removed when he was placed as the first man of the earth. And that which was lacking in him was the Spirit of Christ. Being fused with the Spirit from above (reconstituted), he will be a new creation. For him to be merely restored to what he was would sell him short of the glory he will have in Jesus.

Recalling the meaning of the Hebrew word for Peculiar People (Cegullah; "to shut up; wealth as closely shut up"), we can see that it echoes this uniqueness. They have great worth and are closely shut up. They can't be meddled with. Only God can enter their domain. They remain intact, undisturbed. Outside influences cannot affect them; but when they are called forth, they will affect the entire world with such a fusion that no one will be left the same.

With such an explosion of God's Glory, the heavens of man's schemes shall pass away with a great noise, the elements of all their works shall melt with fervent heat, the foundation of their earth shall be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). Furthermore, the fire of God's Sons shall be a plague to the people that have fought against life and His own. Their carnal ways shall consume away while they stand upon their feet. Their lusting eyes shall consume away in their protective sockets, and their false tongues shall consume away in their mouths (Zechariah 14:12). In their place will come a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more the unsettled sea; but there will be a sea of glass mingled with fire.

Instead of standing on the shifting sands, their foundation will be the Rock, the Lord their God. It will be Him in whom they trust. Their works will all be of Christ. The sockets of their eyes will be filled with the single eye of righteousness. And their words will be pure words, tried in the furnace of fire seven times as noted in Psalm 12:6.

This, dear friends, we can expect when the Lord comes as a thief in the night and ignites the heavens and earth with His holy fire of brimstone. It won't be as a test in the middle of the desert where no lives are found. No not at all. It will be in the midst of the world which is teaming with billions.

That was a fateful day in 1945 that changed the world, and now we live in the day that will change the world again; yet this time, the change is unto Godliness. It is unto Christ that the change is made. This deliverance is not for just a select few, but for ALL! It is the time of Jubilee wherein everyone will be set free, bar none. Until this jubilee sweeps over the earth, things will continue as before; but when it comes--ALL will be made FREE! We will hear the groaning of the prisoner and loose those that are appointed to death. We will declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem; When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. Psalm 102:20-22.

It is becoming more clear that God is fine-tuning and adjusting His Peculiar People to become Death, the destroyer of worlds. Sometimes we may feel that we are not hearing and seeing as we would like; but the watchmen in the night and upon the walls are fine-tuning His word throughout the Body so everyone can hear as we ought, and there will be no mistakes in what the Spirit will be saying today. Habakkuk was told to make the word clear: "And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and MAKE IT PLAIN upon tables, that he may run that readeth it," Habakkuk 2:2, and this is what is taking place.

People's views and attitudes toward one another are being aligned and made right. There may be a few who are contentious; for every time the Sons of God present themselves before the Lord, Satan comes among them, as we read in Job 1:6. Even so, such is part of the fine-tuning.

During this time of preparation, as it was with the test of the first atomic bomb, the steel towers of ironclad, rigid, religious creeds and doctrines that are set in concrete will also be vaporized. At the brightness of Christ's appearing they will disappear from men's minds. They will have no part with the Peculiar People.

Some feel that they are missing out on what God is doing today; but they are not. Untold numbers of those around the world are solidly joined to Christ's body of Peculiar People. Whether they feel it or not, or whether they are on this side of the world or the other--God is not slack nor is His hand shortened. He is doing as much in individuals' lives as He is throughout the entirety of His body.

It is great that our union in Christ does not hinge on whether we are here or there, or whether we are a member of a certain church or not. For He is in the midst of each of us. It is not necessary to go to Jerusalem to pray and be one with Him. Of course, it can be a wonderful thing to be among the saints, especially when the Spirit of our Lord moves in a mighty way; but locality has nothing to do with our relationship with Him and Spiritual advancements. Praise God, we don't have to go to the deserts of New Mexico or to any high mountain in the world to find our Lord! He is neither here nor there--He is in us!

God's Peculiar People, like Moses, Abraham, Joseph, David, Elijah, and many others, are shut up, sealed, and reserved in Him. They are acquisitions of high value, and He is making them around Himself, arraying Himself with the priceless jewels of His Kingdom, and He is not doing it in the open for the whole world to see. It is not yet the heralding hour.

He clothes Himself with dark pavilions and thick clouds, hiding Himself for a season. Oh, but when the hour comes, each pavilion joined together as one, the true mansion and city of God, will descend from the heavens for all to see. The clouds of you and me that once hid Him will part and rain His glory upon every soul. No longer will the Peculiar Ones be held back from a world which anxiously awaits their glorious appearing. Yet, for a little time we shall wait while the Weaver's shuttle pounds, compacts, and joins us all together as His flaming robe of righteousness.

The Headstall

As we are clothed upon by fire, and God is clothed upon by us, we remove all those things that hinder, especially the ornaments of religious persuasions. "And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb" Exodus 33:6. The Hebrew word for ornaments in this verse is defined as, "...trappings; finery...an outfit; specifically a headstall" (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance).

We do not enjoy the torrid places of Mount Horeb; but it is from here that we hear His earth-shaking voice, and from where we strip ourselves of every vestige of religious finery. Such trappings of sparkling glitter lose their appeal in the Light of Christ. The worth of that which our religions had outfitted us fades. Rituals, programs, specials, musical entertainment, pretty girls dancing and swishing in the aisles, crowd drawing speakers, and the likes are shucked like an ear of corn. Every religious fig leaf is shed and dries up beneath the desert's searing sun.

But most of all, THE HEADSTALLS are stripped from us. The headstall is a part of a horse's bridle or halter that encircles the head. What are the headstalls we might find encircling the heads of Christians today? Could it be the legalism of the law, dogmas, creeds, tenants of faith, and doctrines that wrap about their thoughts, warping and squeezing sound truths from their minds? We believe so.

The Jews had phylacteries for which Jesus admonished them for their outward show of piety and devotion (Matthew 23:5), and they are commonly emulated today. People of all faiths may not place scripture texts in pouches and strap them to their foreheads as did the Pharisees; but their minds are bound and braced by the laws and doctrines of their particular church and religious persuasions of choice.

Such mind-instilled phylacteries have no place with the Sons of God. They serve no purpose to those who are led by the Spirit. We do not deny that for a season they served a purpose for some. For Paul said that "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient..." 1 Timothy 1:9. And like a colt before its freewill is broken and made ready for the King's service, the laws of dos and don'ts have their place when applied properly. However, when the age of maturity in Christ is reached, they should not be used "...as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check..." Psalm 32:9 (NASB).

Once they become of age, their guide should be the anointing that abides within and not a man or woman goading them on with dogmatic quirts and spurs. Never should the Sons of God allow men to bridle them and direct their steps in the ways of traditional religion. There should always be the leading of the Spirit rather than the prodding and driving of men's dictates with stringent laws compassing their minds. Only to the rebellious does the law have a place. And though it does, we should know that the law is not the end of the matter; for Christ is the end of the law Romans 10:4. Moreover, it is due to Him that the ornaments, the phylacteries of religion, can be stripped from our lives and out of our minds.

After this is done, it is then that He decks us with His own ornaments, as it is written: "I decked thee also with ornaments..." Ezekiel 16:11. This, of course, is being adorned with the mind of Christ. That which comes in the form of forced servitude and legalism is replaced with true Godliness. It is no longer doing things with attempts to BE a Son of God. It is because of WHO we ARE that we DO those things that are characteristic of a Son. It is not our efforts in the world that makes a Son of God, but it is God's work in our being that makes us such. It is afterwards that we do those things which are indicative of a Son, not before. It is then that We become Death, the destroyer of men's worlds, but not as mere conquerors, but as more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). That is, after utterly destroying the evil worlds, we build them up in Christ Jesus, making them better than they were before the Last Adam's Atomic Bomb comes into their lives.

This is a serious hour in which we live, and it is a peculiar time for a peculiar people. Brethren, to be serious, let us know that it is time to rid ourselves of ornaments and put off our religious shoes that break contact with the Spirit. Although they may have served a purpose while walking the desert's floor, it is not for us today. That with which we were shod had once carried us across the searing sands; but the place whereon we now stand is holy ground (Exodus 3:5). It has no place for our theological sandals, or Egyptian ideologies.

Again, "And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb." Exodus 33:6. When we see God's glory in the midst of our desolation and hear His word resounding from our flaming bush, we gladly lay down the unholy tenets of faith and lifeless rituals. They lose their attraction once we see the glory of His truth and feast upon the living word of God.

Such things are easily laid down, especially when we find ourselves in the presence of God's fire, and His voice thunders from on high. We turn and joyfully strip ourselves of every parcel and post. Praise the name of the Lord for Sinai, for Mount Horeb the Mountain of God, for the Mount of Desolation and for the Lake of Fire -- as we become Death, the destroyer of worlds!

Elwin R. Roach

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